Chapter 241

When Jia Mu heard this, she felt the world spinning; Jia Zheng, Lady Wang, and others were scared to death, hurriedly stepping forward to comfort her, and asked the maid to invite a physician immediately.

And Jia Jing no longer had half the demeanor of a Daoist, beating his chest and stamping his feet, wailing loudly.

At this time, even Jia Zheng, who had always been generous, frowned deeply at him; the dignified head of the Ningguo family, a Jinshi, abandoned his family and business.

Leaving the huge family business of Ningguo to an incompetent son, only then would there be today's disaster.

Now that the incident had happened, he had no actions, no countermeasures, and only knew how to cry like a woman, not even as good as a teenager.

And Lady Wang, Wang Xifeng, and others looked at Jia Cong, with expressions of shock and horror in their eyes.

Thinking of what he had just said in the hall, it was not off by a bit, as if he could predict the future.

Jia Cong said to Jia Zheng: "Master, if there are only female family members in the East Prefecture, the angel is here to announce the decree, there must be a male to receive the decree and plan, otherwise the servants in the prefecture will be in chaos!"

Jia Mu also recovered at this time and asked tremblingly: "The East Prefecture is being raided, will the West Prefecture…."

And the third official was also an old acquaintance of Jia Cong, Yang Hongbin, who had worked with Jia Cong to wipe out the Japanese pirates in Jinling, and was now serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Grand Court of Justice.

And I don't know what the East Prefecture looks like now, how dare I go over to get involved.

……

And the other one Jia Cong also knew; he was his teacher for the courtyard examination, and was now promoted to the Minister of Rites, Guo Youchang.

I saw that the gate of the mansion was full of soldiers and horses; hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guards surrounded the Ningguo Prefecture tightly, their knives and guns were bright and snowy, and their momentum was frightening.

Jia Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Zheng'er, you should go over and take a look; there are only women over there, we can't just watch and not care."

"Master go to help receive the imperial decree, let Cong Ge'er take care of the female family members of the East Prefecture; although he is an outside male, Cong Ge'er is only a teenager, so there is no need to worry about these things."

Wang Xifeng breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said: "Mistress is absolutely right; Third Brother is now serving in the government office and has seen a lot of the world, so he is the most reliable person."

Jia Cong didn't expect that the official who came to the Ningguo Prefecture to announce the decree and raid the house today would have such a high status; one was a prince, and one was one of the heads of the Six Ministries.

She also said to Jia Cong: "You also go together; the master has treated you well, remember to protect the master."

Jia Cong replied: "Old Matriarch, don't worry, the West Prefecture has no guilt, and the raid on the East Prefecture has nothing to do with the West Prefecture."

There were three officials standing under the main gate.

It seems that Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao wants to strip the title and raid the Ningguo Prefecture in a grand and proper manner, and with an irrefutable momentum, to show the strictness of the law and highlight the majestic imperial power.

Jia Cong found it funny in his heart.

There are only female family members in the East Prefecture, he and Jia Zheng just go to help receive the decree and handle the aftermath, it's not like going to the execution ground, is it worth reminding like this.

It was Lady Wang who realized it and said: "Now that there are soldiers and horses over there in the East Prefecture, it is indeed inconvenient for Feng Jie, a woman, to go over.

I will prepare a place to stay first, and it will be fine to settle them after they are brought over."

Originally, Wang Xifeng wanted to go to the East Prefecture to remind You Shi and her daughter-in-law to pack their valuables, but now hearing that the government soldiers had already arrived at the mansion to raid it, she was so scared that her face turned pale and she couldn't take a step anymore.

Although she was sharp-tongued, she was a woman after all; hearing about the house raid, how could she not be afraid.

Jia Cong and Jia Zheng went out of the West Corner Gate of the Rongguo Prefecture; this time they didn't dare to be arrogant and take a carriage, walking quickly all the way to the front gate of the East Prefecture.

One was in his twenties, wearing a white hairpin and silver-winged king's hat, wearing a four-clawed sitting dragon white python robe; looking at the attire, he was actually a prince.

Seeing several Embroidered Uniform Guards setting up ladders and taking down the black-bottomed gold-lettered plaque that once symbolized incomparable glory and wealth, "Imperially Built Ningguo Prefecture," Jia Cong couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

Seeing this scene, Jia Zheng's face turned pale, his eyes filled with tears, and his whole person was swaying.

He muttered endlessly with infinite sorrow: "The descendants are without virtue, the descendants are unfilial, disgracing the family business that the ancestors fought for through knives and fire!"

Jia Cong hurriedly stepped forward to support him: "Master, things have reached this point, no matter how sad you are, it's helpless; it's better to receive the imperial decree first, and clean up the aftermath as soon as possible, so that the old matriarch can be at ease."

Jia Zheng realized that now was not the time to be sad, and brought Jia Cong to the two officials who were announcing the decree.

He bowed to the young man wearing the sitting dragon white python robe: "Prince of Beijing, Jia Zheng pays his respects."

Prince of Beijing Shui Rong smiled: "Cun Zhou Gong, you are too polite; our two families have a friendship of generations, so don't be outside; today I and Minister Guo came to announce the imperial decree.

Although Ningguo has fallen into sin, the Ningguo ancestors had merits to the country; the Prince knows that there are only female family members in the mansion now, and before the male descendants of the noble clan came to receive the decree, I have already restrained the soldiers from breaking into the mansion, so as not to desecrate it."

Hearing this, Jia Zheng looked grateful and said: "Your Highness is righteous, preserving the face of the Jia clan; Jia Zheng is deeply grateful."

Hearing this from the Prince of Beijing, Jia Cong also breathed a sigh of relief, and went over to pay his respects to Guo Youchang with the etiquette of a teacher.

Back then, Guo Youchang appointed Jia Cong as the top of the Yongzhou courtyard examination, which caused quite a disturbance in the imperial court; after the incident, there were some criticisms inside and outside the court.

But ever since Jia Cong won the top of the Yongzhou Enke provincial examination under the name of the copyist, those criticisms disappeared without a trace.

Everyone only said that Guo Youchang had a sharp eye for pearls and his vision was accurate; the courtyard examination top he appointed was actually able to win two top titles, which could be called a good story in the examination field.

So Minister Guo was very pleased with this good disciple, and had long forgotten the embarrassing incident of being restrained and squeezed by Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao because of him.

Since the male descendants of the Jia clan were present, announcing the decree could not be delayed; Jia Zheng led the Prince of Beijing and Guo Youchang into the Conglü Hall of the Ningguo Prefecture.

He also ordered the servants to set up a table and burn incense, and Minister of Rites Guo Youchang read the imperial decree.

The gist of the imperial decree was that Jia Zhen and his son, as nobles of the dynasty, did not think of the imperial grace and glory, disregarded national law, were violent and without virtue, harmed the good and the common people, and their crimes were clear; the Ningguo title was stripped.

Revoke the title deed granted by the founding emperor, seal the imperially built Ningguo Prefecture, confiscate the public assets in the prefecture, and let the family members and servants find their own way.

Because the Emperor remembered that the Ningguo ancestors had the merit of guarding the border and protecting the country, but the noble title of the descendants could not be taken lightly, and it must be taken by military merit.

After the Ningguo title was stripped, the title would be sealed for three years; if the Ningguo descendants established military merits and special achievements, they could start the title and re-seal it; if there was nothing in three years, the Ningguo title and salary would be cut off forever and never used again.

……

After hearing the decree, Jia Zheng and Jia Cong both had some doubts; stripping the Ningguo title was within their expectations.

Raiding the house, sealing the mansion, and revoking the founding emperor's title deed were also to make the stripping of the title thorough enough; although it was frightening and painful, it was not an abrupt move.

It was just that the last item in the imperial decree made people a little confused.

That was that the Emperor remembered the merits of the Ningguo ancestors and granted grace; after the Ningguo title was stripped, there was a three-year resurrection period; within three years, if the Ningguo descendants established military merits and special achievements, they could start the title and re-seal it.

This item seemed like extra grace, but Jia Zheng knew the foundation of his family well; this item was just the Emperor's beautiful words, and the probability of realization was basically non-existent.

Since the passing of Duke Daihua of Ningguo and Duke Daishan of Rongguo, the Jia family of Ning and Rong had been getting worse with each generation.

Especially after Jia Zhen inherited the title, as the head of the clan, he was lewd and immoral, and also brought the Ningguo atmosphere to be extravagant and absurd.

Jia Zheng knew this very well; the Rongguo Prefecture still produced a person like Cong Ge'er.

And the Ningguo line, now there wasn't even a slightly decent descendant, they were all dissolute people, let alone being able to enter the military and establish merits; it was simply wishful thinking.

It was estimated that the Emperor remembered the inheritance of more than seventy years of Ningguo, and stripping the title all at once, fearing to cause criticism, added this ambiguous decree to slightly alleviate the cold and severe atmosphere of stripping the title.

And what they didn't know was that on that day in the Qanyang Hall, the civil and military groups were all harboring ulterior motives and arguing endlessly about stripping the Ningguo title.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao watched from the sidelines, knowing the truth; for him, stripping the title was like knocking the mountain to shake the tiger, and it had to be done.

But the Four Kings and Eight Dukes were deeply rooted, and he didn't want to act too hastily, so as not to intensify it, which was why he issued the decree of stripping the title and re-sealing it in three years.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao controlled the Zhongche Office, and his eyes and ears were everywhere, so he naturally knew the character of the Ningguo descendants, and there was absolutely no possibility of re-sealing the title.

It was just that this move blocked the mouths of the nobles headed by the Prince of Beijing; the noble title could not be taken lightly, and it must be taken by military merit; this was a matter of course and could not be refuted.

Imperial grace had already been granted; if your own family didn't have the ability to take it, who could you blame.

The Prince of Beijing Shui Rong could also be considered an outstanding person among the nobles; whether it was out of the friendship of generations or to protect the power of the nobles from falling, he had already done his best.

It was just that encountering someone as deep as Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, who took the initiative and cut off the middle, and acted with ease, the Prince of Beijing Shui Rong could only be blind.

(End of chapter)